


Goodbye Baby

by addledwalrus



Category: Original Work
Genre: 1940s, Babies, Bombing, Child Death, Childbirth, Depression, Desperation, Father-Daughter Relationship, Financial Issues, Gen, Immigration & Emigration, Infanticide, Newborn Children, Police Brutality, Post-War, Poverty, Violence, World War II
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-13
Updated: 2017-01-13
Packaged: 2018-09-17 05:06:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 727
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9306566
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/addledwalrus/pseuds/addledwalrus
Summary: A father experiences dark thoughts concerning his son, a couple of years after the end of the War.





	

**26 April 1948**

"Why can't we see Mommy, Papa?" The little girl asked in perfect English while looking up at her helpless father. A bead of sweat rolled down his forehead and the man made eye contact with his daughter.

"Because she... she don't want us to see her in pain..."

A long and deafening scream sounded from the next room and the girl ran forward to hug his waist for comfort. He flinched before bending down to lift her up so that they were face to face.

"Papa, is she going to die?"

"No, Sophia. She will get better, just like last time..."

The little girl smiled in relief, but he looked back in despair as he remembered the child who had died of shock during an airstrike on their hometown back in Italy. The grief had tormented his wife for weeks afterwards and their time aboard a crowded ship hadn't improved her health either.

Now, that the woman was trying to give birth again after years of stress and malnutrition, he couldn't help but fear that she wouldn't make it this time.

_"Please, hold on... Sophia needs you... I need you..."_

* * *

**27 April 1948**

The birth left Maria exhausted and with a shockingly pale complexion, but Vincenzo found himself feeling at ease when he saw that she was getting her much needed rest and that their new child was alive and responsive.

He hesitantly asked the midwife for permission to hold the infant and she obliged, passing the bundle carefully towards him, making sure his arms were steady before letting go.

A closer look at the newborn however and Vincenzo wrinkled his face in disgust while unsure of whether it was a really a baby in his arms, or a large carrot with beady black eyes.

He handed his son back to the midwife and instead turned his attention to Sophia, marveling at her innocence and convincing himself that no other child could be as sweet as her.

"Come here, Sophia. Come to Papa..." He called out softly, kneeling down and stretching his arms out as she ran forward.

She giggled girlishly while the midwife glared at them both in disapproval and decided that her work was done for the day.

The newborn infant began to cry falteringly as soon as the room grew quiet and Vincenzo glanced towards the bed, wondering how his son's life would turn out.

* * *

**28 May 1948**

Vincenzo returned late in the evening and wearily climbed the stairs to the cramped three room flat he now shared with his family. He noticed a dim light had been turned on as he entered to find Sophia reading a schoolbook out loud while Maria slaved away at the stove.

She turned to greet him and ask about his day, but he found himself unable to respond and simply headed off to check on his vulnerable son.

The sight of the infant's frightened eyes only reminded him of how harsh his week had been, with him being threatened with the sack, as well as witnessing a younger man being brutally beaten by two police officers.

He'd been wrong to consider this new country as anything close to a paradise and it seemed with the way things were going now, life wouldn't be much better for his son in the future.

_"Sophia is a clever and a pretty girl, but this one...if he even grows healthy, will be stuck in a factory or sent to war to die..."_

A horrifying course of action presented itself and Vincenzo felt that while wife and daughter would be in despair for a while, the results would help everyone financially in the long run.

The baby stirred as if aware of his thoughts, before Vincenzo took a deep breath and raised the blanket over it's head, telling himself that all he needed to do was smother the child until it moved no more.

A distressed whimper caused him to hesitate and he let go of the blanket in guilt upon realizing the cruel act he'd been so determined to commit just seconds earlier.

_"Antonio... Tony... I'm sorry...Papa is too soft..."_

He backed out of the room and returned to keep his wife company, while his mind continued to be tormented by the possibility of losing his job and everything that they had worked so hard for.


End file.
